Color Theory: A series of PJO oneshots
by Local Ghosty
Summary: Seven PJO one shots, written for the Camp Half-Blood forum. Each chapter is based on a color prompt. Contains characters from PJO and HOO.
1. Blue: Chaos

**So I recently read this freaking amazing book called _The Book Thief _by Markus Zusak. The story is told through Death's point of view. In the first chapter, Death describes the colors he notices as a distraction from the survivors that have escaped him. So when the monthly contest from CHB forum was put up—_write a story based on a color prompt, _ essentially—I was like, Death, colors, why not?**

**This is the scene from Battle of the Labyrinth. It was a super chaotic scene, and the prompt for blue was "Chaos/Calm." And this was the scene where there were actual deaths, so I decided to narrate it the way Markus Zusak narrated his book. Hope you enjoy.**

This time, it was blue.

No one ever sees the other colors. To them, the sky is either a deep, dark blue of midnight or the clear cerulean of high noon in the summer.

How wrong they are. I have seen purple skies, white skies, even sickly greenish skies. Suprisingly, I haven't seen a lot of blue. No one seems to die on days when the sky is blue.

I will always remember the blue.

Today I collected twenty-seven souls.

* * *

They were all there, fully armed. Standing in silence in front of a crack in a rock. I waited. I would collect many souls that day.

Then the monsters burst out of the crack, and chaos broke out.

Chaos has never been blue. It has always been red, or black, or something along those lines.

But it was blue.

I watched as they fought with the monsters, stabbing them and slicing them and whirling around. It was a loud, ugly scene. Everything seemed to be flying everywhere. Stones. Sticks. Swords and arrows. A boy dressed in black summoned an army of "undead" skeleton warriors.

I always laugh at that term—I have collected their souls. They are as dead as dead can be.

Finally, the largest monster of all appeared. She had the top half of a woman and the lower half of a dragon. Around her waist was a belt of animal healds—_living_ animal heads, snarling and snapping and spitting. Kampê.

(Don't ask me how I know.)

They attacked her. Most of the monsters were dead—I say _dead, _but no creature is truly dead until their souls have left their bodies and been collected by me—and the rest had been forced back. It was just them against the monster.

Then I saw him.

The soul I had been after for _two millenia. _The soul that had evaded me, capturing itself in an immortal, undestroyable form.

_Daedalus._

I wanted to swoop down and grab him. I resisted. Eons of doing this job have taught me patience.

Suddenly a barrage of rocks flew through the air and towards Kampê. Soon, she was buried. I almost went to collect her soul, but remembered. _Patience. _

The monsters still fought, but they were slowing down. More and more of them fell to the ground, but more and more came out. It was starting to seem as if I would collect _all _of their souls.

Then an unearthly scream exploded.

That is the only word I can use. _Exploded. _Because it was an explosive sound. The sound of fear. If that battle was chaos before, now it was pandemonium. Bright blue pandemonium.

It terrified the monsters. It terrified _everyone. _I had just time to pinpoint its source—a satyr. I remembered the soul I had just collected—the creator of that sound, Pan. The monsters raced back into the crack. It was over.

* * *

A boy lay on the ground. I remembered who he was. He had summoned the skeleton warriors. Evidently that had taken a toll on him. People were clustered around him, pouring nectar into his mouth. Daedalus stood silently nearby. Like a shadow, I stood behind him. I could barely sense his soul. It was very tired. I felt that it would be glad to see me.

The boy lying on the ground sat up and started talking to Daedalus. They mentioned a soul-for-a-soul exchange. I was disgusted. I am _permanent. _There is no trading of souls. Nothing can bring the dead back. I was glad when they decided against it.

Then the boy drew his sword. He said some words, and Daedalus died. I took his soul in my arms.

The sky was still blue.


	2. Royal Purple: Arrogance

**Part 2 of the CHB forum color contest. Color: Royal Purple. Prompt: Arrogance**

I thought I could do it all.

I was prideful, greedy, resentful.

I still don't understand why the gods neglected me—us. Why they insisted they couldn't meddle. Why they never offered even a hint. But for years, I stayed loyal to them, trusted them. They were all I had.

And then, two years ago, I finally got a quest. Finally, a chance to prove myself to my father, to the gods, to anyone. To myself.

I was overjoyed when I found out. My quest? Retrieve a golden apple. Really, Hermes? Really?

But I took it. I wanted to get out. I wanted to be the best. To please my father.

So I went on my quest. I was hotheaded. When I returned, I saw the gods for who they were: divine beings who cared nothing for us, using the excuse of "the laws forbid it." I turned on them. Though I seemed loyal, I was working on a plan to bring the gods down.

And then he came to me in a dream one night.

I heard his voice, echoing from the depths of Tartarus, the pit of hell itself. He told me everything I thought I knew already, how the gods were useless bastards who simply watched us squirm...I thought I could tip the balance of power, I alone. I was arrogant.

He fueled those thoughts, saying I could. Saying if I joined him, I could overthrow the gods. Saying I was stronger than anyone he had ever seen.

I believed him. I gave myself to him, sacrificing myself for what I thought would be a more just world. I helped him rise from his golden coffin. I was elated. I thought we could do it, the two of us. I thought we could.

How wrong I was.

He took me. He controlled my body, forcing me to succumb to his will. I tried to fight. I wanted to do it on my own, or at least with him. I wanted to be the one to destroy the gods!

And then he attacked me.

I still don't understand how he did it. All I know is that I suddenly felt a blinding pain. Have you ever stepped into bright sunlight and your head started hurting? It was that pain magnified ten thousand times. I lost control of my body. It was like I was simply watching his actions from the inside.

What I saw terrified me. I saw how he was destroying people, crushing them. I never wanted that. All I wanted was a more just world.

I tried fighting him. Every time, I failed. I grew weaker and weaker. He grew stronger and stronger.

By the end of the summer, he was stronger than ever. I knew he was planning to kill me and become his true self.

I had been saving my strength. I would defeat him. The gods may have been unjust. But they were better than this tyrant.

It was finally the end. He was about to destroy me. I realized that now was the time to crush him.

But how? I had no idea.

I didn't ask Jackson for help. Like before, I wanted to do it all myself. But I was helpless watching through Kronos's eyes.

I saw a bright gold light fill the room. I looked down and realized it was coming from me—Kronos. The last thing I saw was Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase falling to the ground, lifeless.

I woke up in a room full of spirits. At one end was a counter, and behind it was a daimon—Charon. He leered at me. "Free," he said. "No need for a coin. Usually someone of _your_ status—betrayer, traitor, idiot—crosses free. Into the boat with you."

As we rowed across the Styx, I wondered what happened in the "real world." Kronos had won, that was for sure. It was all my fault. I had thought that I could do it all.


	3. Gold: Luxury

**CHB Forum color contest. Gold—luxury **

Gold—luxury

"I got us a couple of candy bars and a bag of chips each."

Luke looked up from where he was sitting. "Thanks, Thals."

Thalia sat down in the grass, setting down a bag. "Snickers, Milky Way, Doritos—you know."

Luke reached into the bag. "Does this make you guilty?" he said. Snickers. Yum. Probably really old—those vending machines were fairly ancient—but hey. Snickers.

"Stealing?" said Thalia. "A little. But our only other option is to get a job, and you know that ain't happening. I wish we could. Stupid monsters and their overpowerful noses."

"We could beg?"suggested Luke.

Thalia scowled. "I don't want to stoop that low. But I guess stealing is low, isn't it? Ugh, what a crazy messed up life. I hate you, you know that?" she yelled to the sky. "I hate you, Dad! Can't you give us just a little? Of anything? Money, food, monster spray that isn't the water-in-a-spray bottle that toddlers whine for?"

"Thals," muttered Luke. "Calm down."

"I won't!" yelled Thalia. "I just wish we had something—anything! Luke! I just want a safe place to stay! Somewhere we won't have to run and hide every goddamn day! A shower! Is that so much to ask?" Thalia sighed. "I know, I know, I should be grateful we're alive, but...sometimes I just want a bit of luxury. Something comfortable, instead of sleeping under trees in wet grass."

"Thalia, we've got each other."

She sighed. "I know. And I wouldn't trade you for a million dollars, Luke. But sometimes, I just want something. Something that means the gods actually care for us. I guess that feeling just morphed into wanting tangible things."

"Someday, Thals." said Luke. "One day we'll be safe, in a place where you can swim in a golden bathtub full of hundred-dollar bills."

Thalia made a face. "That sounds...oh. You mean we'll be rich. Yeah, when we're dead. Urgh.

"Well, goodnight Luke."

Luke looked up at the stars. "Someday, Thalia," he murmured. "I'll make things better for you. Everything you want."


	4. Turquoise: Possessiveness

**CHB color contest. Turquoise—possessiveness **

"She's looking at you."

"Will, shut up."

"I don't like it."

"Shut up, Will."

"Hold my hand. She needs to know you have a boyfriend."

"Dork."

Will Solace could be a bit...clingy, to say the least. Since he started dating Nico di Angelo, he'd glared aggressively at everyone who even glanced at Nico. Maybe clingy isn't the right word. More...possessive.

"You're myyyy boyfriend."

"Yes, Solace, we established that about two months ago."

"And no one can take you away!"

"I don't think anyone would want to."

"I would!"

"Thank you, Will, I appreciate that."

"I won't let anyone come near you."

"Okay, that's a little creepy."

The point is, Will felt strongly about Nico. Strongly enough to keep tabs on Reyna, Thalia, and even Annabeth.

"I'm **_gay_,** Will. Annabeth has a boyfriend, Thalia's a freaking huntress, Reyna's single as a lonely Pringle—"

"A lonely Pringle?"

"Shut up."

Nico liked to say that he and Will could never go anywhere. "You'll glare at everyone who even moves in our direction and then they'll be all freaked out."

"But I don't want any girl—"

"Solace, I'm _gay!" _

"Boy, then—"

"Solace!"

Especially at the movies.

"No, Will, I'm not holding your hand for the entirety of _Beauty and the Beast. _People are watching the freaking movie. Not us. Your hand will get all sweaty and gross. Ew."

"But just in case—"

"No, Will."

"The beast is really scary?"

"Nice try, buddy."

"It's romantic?"

"I do not want sweat all over my candy. Eurgh. Freaking disgusting."

"Fine."

It could really get a bit weird, to be honest.

"I'm not letting you go to the bathroom alone."

"_Will, _what the hell?"

"There could be germs, you need to properly sterilize—"

"Will, it's a public restroom, there will be germs!"

"—and I don't want anyone seeing how gorgeous you are."

"Okay, that was sweet, but—"

"So I'm going in with you."

"Will, what the hell, I'm not five, I don't need Mama to watch me while I go potty."

"Just saying. And what the fuck, Nico?"

But there were upsides. Like the constant hand-holding.

"Will, quit holding my hand in _public, _it's weird."

"Gay pride."

"Pride comes before a fall—ack!"

"See, if you hadn't been holding my hand, I'd have fallen onto the hard cement."

"If we hadn't been holding hands, I'd have let you!"

Or the frequent kisses.

"No, Will, stop, stop, I just—mm."

"You know you liked it."

"I hate you."

"I hate you too. That's why I kiss you and hold your hand."

"Asshole."

Conclusion: Will Solace was clingy and rather possessive.

Didn't mean Nico minded it.


	5. Jet Black: Mystery

When your eyes open you know who you are—it feels so natural to be on this bus in Arizona, holding this girl's hand—but who is she?

And who is the boy—curly hair, dark eyes—? Why do he and the girl act so familiar around you?

And why do you—you don't even know your name—feel so...wrong in this place?

It suddenly hits you—you don't know who you are. You grasp desperately for a shred of memory—a face, a voice, anything.

Nothing.

There has to be some reason you're here. Some reason you have no memories. The possibilities race through your mind: raised in a lab; dreaming; in a coma; dead; mind wiped by some crazy god—

God?

The thought is fleeting and you try to focus on it, but it's gone and you to take in your surroundings. They are unfamiliar and strange: a bus with kids sleeping, talking, listening to music.

The boy grins and whispers to you, "Watch this." He yells to the chaperone—a pudgy man with a baseball bat and a megaphone—"Sorry Coach Hedge! I didn't hear you! Could you use your megaphone please?" The dude stands up—and what the heck, he seems familiar—and looks at you. He seems to shiver, as if you've scared him somehow.

Did you know these people? They all seem so familiar and none of them think anything is out of the ordinary.

You fell asleep and hit your head. That must be it.

The girl next to you looks worried. You realize you're still holding her hand and you pull away, noticing that though her hair is choppily cut and she's wearing no makeup she's really pretty. Her eyes seem to flicker from blue to green to brown, a hint of purple here and there. Did you know her? Were you dating her? She looks at you. "Jason, what's wrong?"

That's your name! Jason! You anxiously wait for your memories to come flooding back but all that seems to happen is a vague feeling that you're start to panic as the full magnitude of the situation hits you. You're in a bus with no idea about anything except your name and age. You remember stuff like how to tie shoes and how to sterilize and bandage a serious wound—how the hell did you learn that?—but you have no idea where you learned that or how. You remember reading the Maze Runner series, but you don't remember where.

The most horrible part is, you don't remember where you came from. Which means you have no idea how to get back.

The curly-haired boy says, "Nothing's wrong with him, Piper! He's fine." Piper must be the girl's name.

"Are you, Jason?" she says."

I—I don't know—" you say. Your voice is deeper than you think it should be. "Who are you?"

Piper looks really worried now. "What do you mean, Jason? You can't—"

"Ah, he's fine," laughs the boy. "He's trying to get me back for the shaving-cream-on-the-jell-o-thing, right?"

"What?" you say. "Seriously, who are you? I just woke up here, I'm not supposed to be here—"

You don't know where that came from, but as soon as you say it it makes sense. You're not supposed to be here.

The boy grins. "Right! We've all been framed! I didn't run away six times. Piper didn't steal a BMW."

"I didn't steal that car, Leo!"

Leo. That's his name.

"No, guys," you say, "I really don't know."

Their faces fall. Leo still looks as if he knows exactly what's going on, but he's less sure now. "For real, dude?" he says.

"Yeah. I just woke up here. I didn't hit my head, did I?"

"No, you didn't," says Piper. "You're Jason—"

And her mouth drops open and you realize, _you don't know your last name and neither does she._

Leo chuckles. "Brain fart, Piper! Now, let me introduce you to your life correctly. This is the Wilderness School. Everyone here is guilty of something. You—" He stopped. "You—well, you're Jason—"

No one knows who you are.


	6. Violet: Royalty

**Yeah, yeah, ew gross it's a royalty AU, but stick with me until the end (not the greatest fan of royalty AUs but I had an idea for this that I liked).**

**CHB color contest. Color: Violet—royalty (Duh.)**

Prince Perseus knelt at the feet of Princess Annabeth. "My lady," he breathed. "May I have your hand in marriage."

Annabeth gasped. "Oh, Prince Perseus, there is nothing I would de-sire more! But I fear my father would not approve."

"My love for you, my princess," he said, "Will prevail over even King Frederick's iron-fisted rule. Do not despair, Princess Annabeth, for I will persuade King Frederick and Queen Athena, and we shall be wed at dawn!"

**— **

Queen Athena sat on her throne, looking down condescendingly at Prince Perseus. "And what proof do I have that you will be a good husband for my daughter?"

"Please, Your Majesty," said Perseus, his dark hair falling into his eyes as he bowed his head. "I will be forever loyal to her. I will love her, and care for her, 'til, um, um, 'til death do we part."

"I will speak to King Frederick about you." said Queen Athena, her gray eyes looking at him piercingly.

"Yes, Your Majesty." said Perseus, leaving the throne room.

**—**

King Frederick and Queen Athena conferred.

"Should we let him marry our Annabeth?"

"He seems quite nice."

"But my dear, he is from the sea kingdom. You know, the one that took that city—"

"Athens? My dear Frederick, that ri-val-ry is long gone. And Perseus is not like his father."

"How do you remember that's what it's called?"

"Shhh! Later!"

"All right. He may have her hand."

"But how—"

"_Shhh_!"

**—**

"Good news, Annabeth!"

Princess Annabeth shook her head. "_Royalty, _Percy!"

"Sorry! My princess, your father and mother con-sensated!"

Annabeth giggled. "Con-sen-ted, Percy."

"Right, right! Queen A-the-na and King Fred said okay! Now I can marry you!"

Annabeth smiled. "How wonderful, Perseus! We can get married at the sea kingdom! Tomorrow! At dawn!"

"Hooray!" said Percy. "Wait, Annabeth, when is dawn?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes affectionately. "Dawn is when the sun comes up, Seaweed Brain. At, like, six."

Percy frowned. "But, I like sleeping at six and I don't think your mom would let you come to my house at six. And are we even allowed to get married when we're six years old?"

Annabeth playfully showed him. "Don't be silly, Seaweed Brain. We can't get married. We're just playing! And I can't come to your house at dawn! But can I come for _lunch? _And _then _we can get married!"

"Yay! That will be fun! Maybe it'll be so fun, we can get real-married when we're _seven!"_

"We can't get married when we're seven!"

"Eight?"

"Percy, don't be such a Seaweed Brain!"

"Well, when _can _we get married?"

"When we're eighteen. Except, I'll be nineteen."

"So that's..." Percy frowned, concentrating. "Ten years?"

"Twelve," Annabeth corrected him.

"I have to wait _twelve whole years_?"

"Yeah, Percy, because if we get married before that, it's against the law and we'll go to jail."

"Oh. Percy pondered this. "I don't want to go to jail. I guess I'll wait twelve years, even though that's a really really long time. Ten million days!"

"Not ten million, more like...well, it's a lot. But I'll marry you when we're eighteen, I promise! Oh."

Annabeth stood up, her knees digging into the blue rug that covered the floor of here room, where they'd been sitting. "Your mom's here, Percy."

"Oh." Percy's shoulder's slumped.

"Cheer up, Percy," said Annabeth. "I'll see you tomorrow, remember!"

His face brightened. "Right! And we'll get married! Forever!"

"Till death do we part," said Annabeth, grinning.

**I was really pleased with how this turned out and I hope you were too!**


	7. Green: Jealousy

**Last submission for the CHB color contest. Green—Jealousy**

Rachel's flaw was jealousy; she knew this.

She had felt jealousy her entire life—towards the kids with normal parents, towards the kids that went to public schools, towards the kids whose parents were capable of telling them _no, you can't have a phone until you are sixteen and you'll just have to deal with it._

She should never have gone to the Hoover Dam to escape her aunties that called her _spoiled _and whispered _it's not too late to take her in _at the family reunion. She should have passed off the sword as a trick of the light, or something, the way she had before.

But _no, _she just HAD to turn around, see that boy with the sea-green eyes, and then run into him again at Goode.

It would have been fine, except they ended up hanging out together a lot over the summer and so, of course, she ended up with a crush on him. Which _still _would have been fine, if he hadn't been infatuated with Annabeth.

Rachel had clear sight, which meant she could see through the Mist, see the monsters and the mermaids and the glittering trail in the Labyrinth.

It also meant she could read people. Which meant that she could see how Annabeth looked at him, see the way he looked at her and understand that they would most likely end up together.

And she was jealous.

Percy was her escape from her parents, her family, and as they hung out more and more, her crush became deeper. It turned into longing, and the smart thing would be to get away from him before he could hurt her by getting with Annabeth.

But she couldn't tear herself away.

Percy spoke of Annabeth all the time, and jealousy, the green-eyed monster, became comfortable on Rachel's shoulder. She found it easy to hate Annabeth because she _resented _her, resented the fact that she and Percy were head-over-heels in love with each other.

At the end of Percy's sixteenth summer, before his birthday, she finally kissed him. And as she kissed him, her heart...didn't break, exactly. More like...a fracture opened, widened a bit and then stopped. That kiss was painful, and yet it seems to be the end of her pain, because _she wasn't jealous anymore. _

She didn't feel jealous of Annabeth, didn't feel jealous of Percy for his life, didn't _need him._ Didn't need the escape he gave her.

Had she ever been really jealous? No, because she didn't want what Annabeth already had. She had a strong friendship with Percy, and...and did she ever love him?

She never had. All she had felt was cheap attraction. A brief crush that she let linger and held until it became jealousy and resentment and sadness.

She pulled away from him, blushing. He was blushing too, and she said a hasty goodbye. As she watched him climb onto the back pegasus, she whispered a goodbye.

**And that's the end of this story! Hope you enjoyed it!**


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